Tractor machine



March 18, 1924.

C. W. WERDENHOFF TRACTOR MACHINE Filed 8 26. 1922 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 X x v I N VE/V TOR I C W WERDENHOFF A T ToR/vEs a March 18, 1924.

C. W. WERDENHOFF TRACTOR MACHINE Fil 26. 1922 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR. C. W WERDENHOFFT ATTORNEYS Tractor Machines, I is a specification.

cHAnLEs w. WERDENHOFF, or mrmmnronrs, mmmso'rn.

' macros. momma Application filed December 26, 1922. Serial No. 608,915.

To all whom it may cmwem:

Be it known that I,-CHARL1':.s W. WERDEN- HOFF, a citizen of the'United States resid-' ing at Minneapolis, in the county of llennepin and State of Minnesota, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in of which the following My invention relates to tractor machines, and particularly to the construction of the tractor members which cause the tractor. to be propelled over. the ground. An object is to provide tractor members which. are used in place of driving wheels, these tractor members being strong and durable and. requiring a comparatively small amount of material. An object in particular is to provide tractor members in which extended surfaces are placed in succession upon the ground and upon which surfacest'he tractor is ada ted to be moved either forwardly 0r bac wardly in accordance with the direction of'movement in which the extendedsurfaces are laid upon the ground.

The full objects and" advantages of my invention will ap ear in connection with the detailed de scriptlon and the novel features embodied in my inventive idea will be perticularl pointed out in the claims;

' The rawings illustrate the structure sufficien tly to indicate that a tractor machine is provided with two tractor members mounted at substantially the position occupied by ordinary driving wheels, one of the tractor members being shown in detail and it being understood that there is a similar tractor member at the other side of the machine operated from the same driving shaft or axle. In the drawings Fig. 1 is a view of one of the tractor mem ers shown mostly in side elevation but with a small portion in section; Fig. 2 is a view in vertical section on the line'22. of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a. top plan view. Fig. 4 is a detail view in vertical section.

Referringto the construction shown in the drawings, the numeral 10 designates-the be '0 any customary or suitable construction and which it is not necessary to illustrate in detail. Secured to the rear corners of the frame are sheet metal casings 12 which are 0 on on the lower sides. .Both of these casings and the mechanism contained therein are alike, and hence a description of one of them will be sufiicient for an rear fportion of a tractor frame which may understand i of the invention. The two casings are rigidly secured to the frame by means of braces 14 while crossed braces 16- serve to tiethe two casings together. Pos1t1oned ,on each of the casings 12 are two ar supporting memopen center rectangul bers .18'.and 2O havm rounded corners as shown in Fig. 1. En less racks 22 extend entirely around the inner margins of these supporting members While the outer margins thereof are hollow and divergentl flared to form the walls 24 and 26, the ho low space between which is closed by endless round engaging bands 28 having in-- wardly turned flan es 30. A series of pins 32 extend throng the flanges 30 and through the outer straight portions of the.

walls 24 and 26 whereby theliands 28 are secured in place. A driving axle 34 which may be driven in the customary and well known manner is mounted for rotation in a housing 35. Secured to each end of the axle 34 is'a pair of pinions 36- and 38 which meshres ectively with the. racks 22 of the two mem ers 18 and 20. Secured by bolts 40 to the sides of the pinions 36 and 38 are annular flanges 42 which are flared so as to fit upon the flared walls 24 and 26 whereby the pinions 36 and 38 are maintained in enga ement with theteeth of the two endless rac 22. As shown in Fi 2 the pinion 36 is keyed to the end of t e axle 34, the pinion 38 is connected with the pinion 36 by an integral ring, and the pinion 38 is rotatably mounted on the reduced end of the housing therefor.

The operation and advantage of my invention will now be readily understood. Rotation of :the' axle 34 causes rotation of the two pinions 36 and 38which mesh with the endless racks of the two supporting'memhere 18 and. 20. As will be apparent from Fig, 1, these two' supporting members are so arranged that when the inion 36 Is at the middle of one side of t a member 18,

v35 which constitutes a. bearing the inion 38 will be at one corner of the,

mem or 20 and vice versa. -When one of the pinions reach a corner of its cooperating supporting member, this member is given a (pewter turn upon its rounded edge and t e pini'onworks its way along the straight rack thus laid down until the next corner is reached, when the operation is repeated. Since the two supportingmembers are turned in alternation with each other, there I will always be a straight rack portion restwagons can be ing upon the ground and upon tractor or other machine moves. Since the tractor members have extended surfaces, the machine may be moved over soft ground without sinkin into the same to any great extent. It is 0 vious that the machine may be moved in either direction according to the direction of rotation of the driving axle. The machine when in use will not cut up the ground but will pack it and leave it smooth. The machine when used as a tractor can be used to plow in either direction without turning at the end since it can be started straight back with the necessity only of turning the plow. When gravel is to be placed on roads, the machin can be used to pull the gravel wagone which are hitched to one end and when it is desired to start back in the opposite direction, the wagons can be unhitched and after the machine has been started back the hitched to the other end of the machine. The tractor can also be advantageously used for concrete road building and 'for use in connection with steam shovels, drags and scrapers. If desired, the

' machine can be constructed without a motor and pulled by horses in the manner of a common frame wagon over soft fields since in stead of common wheels it has tractor members which will not sink to any great extent into the soft earth.

I claim:

l. The combination with the frame and axle of a vehicle, of two pinions .secured to the axle, a casing associated with the frame,

which the two endless ground engaging rack members within said casing and with which said pinions mesh respectively and upon which said pinions travel to" give a partial rotation in alternat on with each other, and means for maintaining said pinions in mesh with said rack members.

, 2. The combination with theframe and axle of a vehicle, of two pinions secured to the axle, a casing associated with the frame, two endless ground engaging rack members within said casing and with 'which said pinions mesh respectively and upon said pinions travel to give a partial rotation in alternation with each other, said rack members having walls flaring outwardly from the endless rack portion and outwardly flaring annular flanges secured to said pinions which fit upon said flaring walls.

3. The combination with the frame and axle of a vehicle, of two pinions secured to the axle, a casing associated with the frame, two endless ground engaging rack members within said casing and with which said pinions mesh respectively and upon which said pinions travel to give a partial rotation in alternation with each other, said rack members having hollow outer portions with flaring walls surrounding the endless rack portions, endless bands secured to the outer margins of said flaring walls, and outwardly flaring annular flanges secured to said pinions which fit upon said flaring Walls.

In testimony whereof I hereunto aflix my signature.

which 

